What a Drag
by MegTDJ
Summary: It's the end of a long day for Sam and Daniel...


Title: What a Drag  
Author: MegTDJ  
Email: master@gateview.ca  
Category: Humour  
Rating: G  
Pairing: None intended, just Sam/Daniel friendship.  
Spoilers: None. I picture it being set during season 7, but it can really be part of any season except 6.  
Summary: It's the end of a long day for Sam and Daniel...  
Archive: Gateview; Heliopolis; Scientific Minds; samanddaniel.com; Stargatefan; Fanfiction.net; anywhere else, please ask permission  
Feedback: Yes, please!

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just a major fan of the show!

Author's note: I wanted to write a fan fiction about my favourite aspect of Stargate SG-1 (the Daniel/Sam friendship) without making it "shippy" or angsty or anything like that, and this is what ended up coming out. :)

*Many thanks to my betas - Suzie, my mom (aka Urgo), and Riz. I bow before you with most humble gratitude, you guys are the best! :)

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What a Drag

  
"There!" Sam sighed as she dropped her pen triumphantly on her completed mission report. "Finally," she muttered, rubbing her weary eyes. "I thought I'd never get that thing done."

It had been a long day, and she was so exhausted that she'd found it difficult to string two sentences together on paper, let alone a whole mission report. She'd refused to allow herself to procrastinate, however, as she really didn't understand _why_ she was so tired. Sure, her day had begun with the neighbour's cat yowling its head off beneath her window at 4am, her toaster oven had gone on the fritz and nearly burst into flames, and then she and the rest of SG-1 had spent almost 12 hours off-world on what was a relatively routine and boring, yet no less tedious, mission... but she'd had far more strenuous days that hadn't drained her energy as much as today had seemed to. "I must be getting old or something," she thought dryly.

She glanced at her watch as she pushed back from her desk and stood up. She knew that Colonel O'Neill would have left for home hours earlier, Janet was at home with Cassie, and Teal'c was probably deep into his nightly kel'nor'eem already, but Daniel had mentioned earlier that he'd had quite a bit of work to do and so would probably be working late. "I wonder if he's still here?" she thought as she switched off the lamp on her desk and turned to leave the room, remembering at the last moment to take her report with her. She decided to swing by his office and see on her way out. She always liked to walk out to her car with Daniel after a long day, as they never failed to get into some kind of deep and meaningful conversation on the way, something they both enjoyed immensely.

She could hear his voice drifting all the way down the corridor as she approached his office a few minutes later, and although she couldn't hear what he was saying, she could tell by his tone that he wasn't very happy about something. She paused in the doorway and leaned slightly against the doorframe when she saw that he was seated at his desk, talking to someone on the phone. One hand held the receiver to his ear, while the other was tapping his pen impatiently on a pile of books on the desk in front of him. "Well, do you know when you're likely to be _finished_?" he was asking, his voice tense with obvious impatience and annoyance, his tone laced with sarcasm. The answer he received was obviously not the one he wanted to hear. He closed his eyes and sighed, as if trying to keep his rising temper in check. "No. No, that's not good enough..." he said firmly, but he seemed to be interrupted mid-sentence by the person on the other end of the line. 

It was then that he first noticed Sam standing in the doorway, and he gave her a slight wave of acknowledgment. Sam shot him a questioning look, and he responded by shrugging and apologetically raising a finger, silently asking her to hold on for a minute.

"No, you told me you'd have finished your analysis by Thursday, and it's now Friday," he said in his best no-nonsense tone. "This device is due to be shipped off to Area 51 tomorrow, and you're telling me that you haven't made _any_ progress _whatsoever_ since _Tuesday_?!" He paused for a moment while the other person spoke, then he rolled his eyes in disgust. "That's a pretty poor excuse. We're working on a deadline here and you've known that all along," he snapped, his voice about as harsh as he could ever make it go. "Now before I decide to come down there and string you up by your... hang on." He cut himself off mid-sentence and put his hand over the phone's mouthpiece. "Sorry, Sam, do you need something?" he asked in his usual gentle tone.

Sam laughed, amused by the whole conversation. "Having problems?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "You have no idea," he replied, his voice quiet so as not to be overheard by whoever was still on the line. "You'd think a whole team of archaeologists and scientists could collect as much information from one teeny little device as they need within a week. Honestly, sometimes it seems as though if I'm not doing it personally, nothing gets done." 

"I know what you mean," Sam said, thinking about some of her own experiences being in charge of a group of scientists. "Sorry to interrupt you. I was just on my way out and thought I'd stop by, see if you were heading out, too."

"No, looks like I'll probably be here all night," Daniel said with a sigh. "No doubt I'll have to go down there and sort these guys out... again," he added with another roll of his eyes, though they twinkled with good humour rather than anger.

Sam laughed again. "Well, I'd love to stay and help, but I'm beat." 

"Ugh, tell me about it," Daniel muttered. "I'm so exhausted I can barely think straight anymore."

"I know the feeling," Sam said. "Look, why don't you just leave those guys for the night, go home and get some rest?"

Daniel seemed to be considering the idea, though he didn't speak.

"I think they've been filled with sufficient fear of your wrath," Sam teased. "I'm sure you'll find that all the work has been done by morning." 

"You think so?" he asked, looking torn.

"Yeah. You deserve a break, at least. Come on, walk out with me." 

Daniel sucked in a deep breath, sat up straight in his chair, and nodded his head. "You're right. I'll be with you in a sec." 

Sam smiled as he turned his attention back to his phone call. Hearing Daniel barking out orders to one of his "subordinates" was just so reminiscent of the way Jack O'Neill dealt with those under his command that she couldn't help but find it entertaining.

Once he'd hung up the phone, Daniel grabbed his jacket from where he'd draped it across the back of his chair, rearranged a few of the items on his desk, snatched up one of his notebooks, switched off his desklamp, and headed for the door. "Okay, let's go," he said lightly, closing the door to his office behind them as they left.

"Going down to the locker rooms first to change?" Sam asked.

"Yep," Daniel replied. "I also need to leave my report on General Hammond's desk. I didn't get a chance to give it to him earlier."

"Me too." They'd reached the elevator by this point, so Sam pressed the button for Level 28. It took them a matter of seconds to reach that level, then they both made their way to Hammond's office, left their reports on his desk, headed for the locker rooms, quickly got changed into their civilian clothes, and met up back at the elevator. 

Daniel looked more exhausted than ever by then. He sagged against the elevator wall as the doors started to close behind them, folding his arms over his chest and crossing one foot casually in front of the other, then letting out a heavy sigh. "Do you ever feel like we're... I don't know... getting a little... _old_ for all of this?" he asked. "I mean, the round-the-clock saving-the-world thing?"

Sam could tell by the slight hint of irony in his tone that he was joking... or at least _half_ joking. Still, while she couldn't deny that the thought had crossed her own mind earlier, she didn't have to tell _him_ that. "Well," she said thoughtfully, "considering that Teal'c is over 100 and still going strong, I think we've got a few good years left in us yet." 

Daniel chuckled and leaned his head back against the wall. "True." His mind suddenly seemed to switch gears just then, and his head snapped back upright as he burst out impetuously, "Do you ever want to just do something... impulsive and crazy?"

The question came so unexpectedly that Sam was taken aback for a moment. However, she could tell by the look on his face that his question was in earnest, so rather than laugh and brush it aside she responded with the first thing that entered her mind. "What, like run through the halls of the SGC naked?" she joked.

Daniel's expression quickly changed to one of surprise, then he suddenly burst out laughing.

As soon as she realized what she'd said, Sam's mouth opened wide and she stammered, "I didn't say I _wanted_ to, I just..."

"I can't believe you just said that!" Daniel managed to exclaim through his hearty laughter.

"No, I didn't mean..."

"What a mental image!" Daniel gasped, practically doubled over.

"Shut up!" Sam cried as she began to laugh as well, giving him a shove that knocked him over against the far wall of the elevator. 

This sent him groping along the wall for the rail as he continued to laugh even harder than before. "The secret life of Sam Carter," he squeaked, "the SGC's resident streaker!" 

"Cut it out!" Sam ordered in mock indignation, thwacking his arm as he struggled to stay standing.

"Hey, you said it, not me!" he retorted, holding up one hand as if in surrender while gripping the rail for support with the other.

The elevator doors opened just then, and the two of them found themselves being stared at rather curiously by half a dozen serious-looking SGC officers out in the hall. Daniel immediately straightened himself up, obviously putting every ounce of effort into restraining his laughter, and he and Sam edged out of the elevator and past the onlookers as quickly as they could. 

As soon as they were free and clear, the two of them burst into fits of laughter once again, both of them so tired that they simply couldn't stop. Tears were streaming down their faces and they both doubled over until they could no longer stand, finally collapsing onto the floor as they gasped for breath. 

"Did you see the looks on their faces?!" Sam finally managed to say.

Daniel nodded, gripping his side and desperately trying to settle down. "I don't think they'll ever look at us the same way again!" he said, though the thought didn't seem to bother him very much.

Sam took a deep breath as she finally seemed to regain control of herself. "Okay... well... that was... strange," she said, still sitting down with her back against the wall of the corridor. 

"Yeah, no kidding," Daniel agreed. "Just goes to show how exhausted we really are - we can't even stop ourselves from laughing!" He began to chuckle slightly at this, but Sam quickly jumped to her feet and grabbed his arm, dragging him up off the floor. 

"Don't get started again, Daniel, or you'll _never_ stop," she warned him playfully, pushing him toward the doors leading to the parking garage.

"Yes, ma'am," Daniel said, shooting her an impish grin.

~*~*~

Though the two of them parted ways before they reached their vehicles, they met up again at the outer gate, Daniel's jeep pulling up alongside Sam's Volvo as they waited for the security guard to let them through. 

Sam didn't pay much attention to him, being a bit preoccupied with trying to find a decent radio station, until she heard him rev his engine. She glanced over at him then and did a double take when he raised his eyebrows and revved the engine a second time. She simply stared at him in disbelief with a look that said, "Are you _serious_?!" 

Daniel grinned, and yelled over to her, "Dare ya!"

Sam's mouth opened wide in surprise, though she, too, was grinning. "No way!" she called back.

Daniel stuck out his lower lip in a pout, then a sly look came over his face. He revved the engine again, making a comical face and wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

Sam cracked up laughing, and so didn't notice that the gate had already opened. Daniel sped away with a slight squeal of his tires.

Sam cursed under her breath and took off after him, not wanting to be outdone. 

The stretch of road connecting the SGC with the rest of the Colorado town was fairly long, straight, and wide, and no traffic could be seen heading their way, otherwise such an insane notion would never even have crossed their minds. However, that night, Daniel Jackson and Sam Carter, the two straight-laced scientists who together comprised half of the SGC's flagship team and were therefore two of the world's most professional and important people, had one heck of a drag race. 

Daniel's head-start didn't keep him ahead for long, as Sam's Volvo was sporty and fast and his jeep just wasn't as agile. She grinned in triumph as she pulled up alongside him, but Daniel screwed up his face in mock indignation and pressed his foot even harder on the gas pedal, creeping ahead of her once more. 

Her adrenaline pumping and the rock song playing on her radio both served to egg her on, and soon Sam was again in the lead, with the undeclared-yet-understood finish line in sight... the intersection where the two of them would have to part ways. 

Daniel gave it all he had for those last few meters, his poor old jeep going much faster than it had ever been intended to go, but Sam had time to come to a complete stop at the red light before he screeched up beside her.

"I think I won!" Sam taunted him victoriously. 

"Don't be so cocky, I _let_ you win!" Daniel joked.

"Ohhhh, I'm sure you did. Next time maybe you'll think twice before challenging someone in a sports car to a drag race when you're driving an old clunker!"

"Hey!" Daniel protested as if he'd found her remark insulting. "It's not a clunker, it's a classic!"

"Oh, right... classic like an old B-movie," she mocked.

"Okay, that's it, I'm gonna _get_ you for that one!" Daniel warned her playfully.

"You do that," she said with a grin, "but do it tomorrow, okay? We really should be getting home now, before we go and do something even _more_ impulsive and crazy." She shook her head in disbelief as it began to dawn on her what they'd just done. "We're lucky no cops were around to see us," she laughed.

"Yeah," Daniel reluctantly agreed. "At least it prevented us from falling asleep at the wheel, though."

Sam laughed again and began slowly pulling away. "Good night, Daniel!" she called.

"Night, Sam!" he called back as he turned in the opposite direction and drove away.

~*~*~

Sam saw Daniel's jeep sitting in his assigned parking space when she arrived at the SGC the next morning, but he had already gone inside. She didn't see him until SG-1 met up in the briefing room for their usual morning briefing with General Hammond. 

"So Carter," Jack spoke up as soon as she entered the room, "I hear you actually went home last night."

"Yes, Sir, I actually did," she replied lightly as she took her seat, noting that he sounded a bit surprised by the fact.

Jack then turned his attention to Daniel, who was already seated and seemed to be trying hard to avoid looking over at Sam. "You too, I take it?"

"Uh, yeah... I did... too," Daniel answered, his voice unusually loud at first but trailing off into almost a whisper by the end of his reply. His facial twitches and distortions gave away the fact that he was fighting the urge to laugh.

Jack glanced back and forth between Daniel and Sam with open curiosity. "Didn't you say you had 'mounds of work to do'?" he asked Daniel with a hint of suspicion in his tone.

"Yep, still do," Daniel replied, opening the report that sat before him on the table and pretending to read it.

Sam did the same, blindly leafing through the pages of her report and wishing with all her might that General Hammond would walk in and start the briefing before she and Daniel both cracked and set each other off again.

But Jack was determined to get to the bottom of why the two of them were acting the way they were. "General Hammond put you in charge of all the egg-heads studying that device we brought back from P5C 842, right?" he asked. 

A relatively safe-sounding question, Sam thought.

Daniel seemed to think so as well. He cleared his throat and looked over at Jack as he answered, "Yeah, and they're really pushing the limits on me. I gave them until today to finish their research and they told me this morning that they _still_ haven't made any headway. Looks like we'll have to ship it off to the NID before getting any information on it ourselves."

"What a drag," Jack said casually, looking down at the tabletop as he toyed absent-mindedly with the corner of his report folder.

Sam would have been fine if she hadn't accidentally caught Daniel's eye right at that moment, and Daniel would have been fine if Sam hadn't suddenly clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. They both tried as hard as they could to suppress it, but before long they were roaring with laughter. 

Jack simply sat there staring at them in confusion, innocently demanding again and again, "What did I say?" 

  


THE END

  


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